Because You Cared
by Thecrazyrabidfangirl
Summary: A near-death experience reveals a new side to the stoic Rei... Rei x Maya


**Summary: **A near-death experience reveals a new side to the stoic Rei…

**Genre(s): **Romance/Drama

**Character(s): **Rei A., Maya I.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Neon Genesis: Evangelion

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*** **_**Because You Cared **_*****

It was a calm, sunny, peaceful, day at NERV headquarters, or at least it had been. Hundreds of enraged Toyko-3 citizens yelled and screamed at the NERV security guards that had formed a line to hold them back from storming the pyramidal building.

A riot had broken out earlier in the day outside the headquarters due to the damage caused by an Angel attack the previous day. Rei had been unable to hold back the Angel before the other two Evangelion pilots had come to her aid, resulting in the destruction of a large residential area; which caused the ongoing riot.

The riot continued until late into the day and showed no signs of ending any time soon. A group of NERV personnel slowly made their way out of the heavily guarded entrance. Security guards formed a protective circle around the staff, who included Misato, many of the technicians and the three young Evangelion pilots.

The guard escort group slowly passed by the line of security guards who were barely holding back the furious rioters. Maya Ibuki laid her hand on Rei's shoulder comfortingly.

"It's not your fault Rei, you couldn't hold the Angel back by yourself," Maya said in an attempt to comfort the young girl. Rei's stoic expression did not falter despite Maya's words.

"There she is! That's the Eva pilot!" Suddenly there was a commotion at the security barrier. A group of crazed rioters had managed to break through the security defenses and were heading straight for the guarded NERV staff.

Several bodyguards broke away from the protective circle and ran to intercept the rioters, leaving Rei exposed. The two groups clashed and the rioters were quickly beaten back. However, one managed to break away from the melee and he sprinted towards Rei in a frenzied rage.

"He's got a gun!" a NERV technician screamed and she tried to duck for cover as the man pulled a gun from his jacket and aimed it at Rei.

Rei only had time to blink before the gun went off and she heard someone cry out "No!" in alarm. When she opened her eyes the gunman had been wrestled to the ground. A group of people were huddled around something a short distance in front of her and she walked over to the group, curious to see what had happened. There, laying on the ground and bleeding profusely, was Maya.

Maya drifted in and out of consciousness, blurry images of figures surrounding her flashed through her mind, sirens blared in her ears, the feeling of being lifted, then everything went black.

She slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a stark white ceiling. The golden afternoon sunlight gently shone in through the windows of Maya's hospital room. She tried to sit up, but pain shot through her chest and forced her to lay back down. She rubbed her gauze covered chest, letting out a pained sigh.

"You are lucky to be alive," the soft voice startled Maya in the total silence. She looked to the side for the source of the voice and found Rei sitting in a chair next to the bed. Maya was surprised; she had not noticed her since she had been so quiet.

"Hey Rei..." Maya said weakly as she painfully tried to sit up, but instead opted to lean back against her pillow.

"The bullet entered the left side of your chest and punctured your lung, barely missing your heart," Rei stated as she passively stared at Maya.

"I see..." Maya said then trailed off into silence. Several minutes passed before Rei spoke again.

"Are you hungry lieutenant Ibuki?" Rei asked suddenly. Maya was surprised by the question.

"Kind of," she replied meekly. Rei said nothing as she stood up and exited the room. Maya was confused by Rei's behavior but had no choice but to lie in wait. Ten minutes passed before Rei returned carrying a tray of food and set it down on the bedside table.

"You didn't have to do that Rei," Maya said as Rei placed the tray on her lap. She said nothing but pressed a button on the bed's frame that mechanically raised the upper section up, allowing Maya to sit up comfortably. Rei forked up a piece of food and held it up to Maya's mouth.

_'Why is she doing this?' _Maya thought as she opened her mouth and allowed Rei to feed her.

Weeks passed by, yet Rei never left Maya's bedside, constantly watching over her in silence, doing everything she could to take care of her. Maya had been against it at first but soon she came to happily accept being taken care of by the stoic girl. A month of Rei's care had passed by when she entered the hospital room with the closest thing Maya had ever seen to a sad look on her face.

"Lieutenant Ibuki," Rei said softly as she entered.

"Hello Rei," Maya said with a smile upon seeing the girl, but soon her smile disappeared as she saw the sullen look on her face. Rei sat in her usual spot next to Maya's bed.

"I am being forced to return to school tomorrow. Captain Misato is unable to keep the school from inquiring on my absence any longer," Rei said plainly. Maya's heart fell. She had grown accustomed to Rei being by her side, though she did not know why she was hurting so much inside.

The day passed by in sad silence. Maya did not want the day to end but, despite her willing it not to, the sun eventually did set.

"You should head home, Rei, it's late," Maya said reluctantly a few hours after dusk.

"I do not wish to leave until you are asleep," Rei replied softly. Maya smiled and laid her head back on her pillow, knowing she needed to sleep, if anything so that Rei would go home, it was late after all. Five, ten, then fifteen minutes passed and she could not sleep. A question had been on her mind all month, aching to be asked.

"Rei?" Rei looked up at her name being called.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Why have you been doing all this? Staying by my bed, taking care of me, all of this, why?" Maya asked, she wanted to know so badly. There was a short pause as Rei looked down, then back up at Maya.

"Because you cared about my life,"

**END**

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**Author's Commentary: **I wrote this story literally over a year ago, but I never got around to fixing it up to be posted until now, so it's not as good as many of my more recent works. I hope you all still enjoyed reading it though! All feedback is happily welcomed!


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